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Hey there! I hope you’re all having a wonderful Sunday so far! After getting up a bit later than I had planned, Dad and I headed over to Barnes and Noble to grab some coffees and catchup in the cafe like we do most weekend mornings. I wasn’t hungry for breakfast yet so instead, I opted for some unsalted almonds and a green tea which was AMAZING. It had coconut, ginger and lemon flavors in it which at first made me a bit hesitant to try it but I was sold after my first taste. Absolutely amazing.

After running a few errands to the grocery store, pharmacy and Target, we made it back to the house where my hunger finally set in. I was craving something sweet so I whipped up one of my favorite snacks from college…Pumpkin Banana Yogurt! I use to bring with me to my morning Astronomy class. I even had my professor ask what it was because he could smell it from the front of the class one morning. It super simple to whip up and filling once you add in some oats or granola.

After mushing up a whole banana, I add some vanilla yogurt, which this morning happened to be a Light Activia that was left in the fridge and add some pumpkin spice. Don’t have pumpkin spice? Chances are you have all the stuff to make it….I use to use this recipe before I ended up just buying some. Add as much as you want, toss in some granola or rolled oats (my preference) and you’re good to go! Hope you guys enjoy and have a wonderful rest of the day! I am off to the gym to fit in a bit of cardio before I start some hardcore cleaning!

To say that this week has been rough would be a huge understatement but even through the tough days, I keep trying to find something that makes me smile or laugh. Today, I’ve had zero energy to do anything and have a test tomorrow which I’m far from prepared for. On top of that, my homesickness is starting to kick in a bit but luckily for me, I found the perfect, if only temporary, fix for that. The entire time I have been at LSU, I have always complained about the fact that while they claim “America Runs on Dunkin”, there is only one Dunkin Donuts in Louisiana and it was located an hour away. Being from New England, which is the birthplace of the company, I’ve always enjoyed my coffee and grew up in a place where most people literally only function after they have had their very serious fix. Here’s some perspective…in high school, my dad would make two pots of coffee which he, my brother and myself would drink before leaving the house for school and work. On my way to school, I would stop at Dunkin, wait in line for sometimes twenty minutes and then run off to school barely making the bell. Once I sat in class and had my first sip of iced coffee though, it was completely worth it. I will even admit that I was late to school some days because I needed my fix. It sounds bad, I know, but it’s just the way that most New Englanders function. Boston is another perfect example because on some corners you can find a Starbucks and directly across the street see a Dunkin.

Just for reference, here’s a map of the Starbucks and DD locations in and around Boston

Fortunately for me, DD finally came to their senses and opened a location in Baton Rouge, which for me was a godsend this week when all I could have wanted was a quick trip home which is obviously impossible in the middle of the semester. After hearing that it opened yesterday but being unable to find any information, I was disappointed until today when people started posting pictures. The location was FINALLY listed on their website and the minute I got out of my afternoon meeting and got back to my apartment, I grabbed my keys and was out the door. I knew already what I wanted and knew I would probably scare some of the new employees who expected no one to really know what they wanted but I was beyond excited. Here the thing….Was it fifteen minutes away from where I live? Yes. Did it require me getting on the highway to get a coffee and some munchkins (or donut holes for those of you unfamiliar with the DD lingo)? Yes. Did I waste most of the gas that I had in my tank to get there? Yes. But in the end, when I ask myself if it was worth it, there isn’t a moment of hesitation in saying yes.

Enjoy the little things!

Getting DD today, for me, was one of those little things in life that you absolutely have to appreciate. For almost an hour, I completely forgot the fact that I was homesick, that my week was going poorly and that I had found out a lot of things this week that I could have gone without knowing. Having something that reminds me of home made me remember that being away is only temporary and I need to push through these hard and frustrating times before I get there. It’s these kinds of times that make you a stronger person at the end of the day. I forgot momentarily about the stress and the frustrations that have plagued my week and now, as silly as it sounds, feel completely refreshed and ready to take on this test tomorrow as well as the rest of my week. Ironically enough, after getting back to campus from my trip to DD and sitting down to do some studying, I quickly opened The College Prepsters blog to see that she recently posted a Kurt Vonnegut quote which fit my situation perfectly:

From The College Prepster (Click to be taken to her site)

It seemed perfectly fitting as may even apply to some of your lives right now. With that being said, I hope you all have an amazing rest of the week and don’t take the small things that make you smile for granted. Sometimes they are the only things you have to get you through the day!